Airship nose batten



April 5 1927.

c. H. ZIMMERMAN AIRSHIP NOSE BATTEN gwumtov Zimmennan April 5 7,

v C. H. ZIMMERMAN AIRSHIP NOSE BATTEN Filed necjlz, 1925 2 Shecs-Sheet 2 V gmewlio'o Charles WZimniQrman,

Patented Apr. 5. 1927.

UNITED STATES;

- re atta PATENT OFFICEQ CHARLES H..ZIMMERMAN, or AKRON. OHIO, Assienon r0 THE GOODYEAR rrRnsz RUBBER COMPANY, OF AKRON, OHIO, A cORrORArION OF OHIO.

A'IRSHIP NOSE B TTEN.

Application filed December 12, 1925. Serial No. 75,097.

My invention relates to airships and it has particular relation to the structure and arrangement of fabricated elements employed for the purpose of reinforcing the hull of such airships.

One object of my invention is to provide a novel type of nose or bowconstruction for an airshipwhich prevents deformation of the envelope and air forces from acting directly on the bow portion of the airship envelope. I 7

Another object of my invention is to provide a bow stifiening structure, which protects the envelopeof an airship against air pressure caused by forward motion of the airship, and which is adapted to spread and contract toaccommodate expansion and contraction of the forward portionv of the envelope without injury thereto.

Another object of my invention is to provide truss members vwhich are especially adapted for'use as structural elements employed as how stiffeners and which are adapted to be connected to-the outside of an airship envelope.

Semi-rigid airships, as heretofore constructed, have been provided with fabricated keel structures extending along the lower portion of theairship,-and an en velope securedto the keel in such'manner that the forward end of the keel and the envelope converge concurrently at the nose or bow portion of the envelope. It has been customary to provide how stifieners or nose battens at the extremity of the envelope and. keel, which battens were in the form of rigid structural elements radiating from the bow cap and engaging the inner surface of the envelope. The battens arelaced or otherwise suitably secured to the envelope. In navigating airships embodying structures of this'kindythe envelope and nose battens must withstand air forces acting di rectly thereon, which cause distortion stresses of considerable magnitude tending to break the connections which secure the battensto the envelope. In case of injury to the nose of the airship. the portion of the envelope in that location must be removed in order that'repairs may be made.

In an airship constructed according to my invention, in which. bow stilfeners or battensare disposed on the outside of the envelope,the forward part of the envelope is protected from the weather and, from air forces which act upon the forward end of the ship. These bow stiffeners or battens are secured to the outer end of a horizontal cylindrical member provided at the forward end of the keel, and are connectedto the end cordmembers of'the keel. The keel projects beyond the end of the envelope, the extreme end of the latter fitting about the cylindrical member. At the outer end of the cylindrical member, asupporting mem her is provided which pivotally supports a plurality of nose battens radiating therefrom and extending rearwardly over the en.- velope and connected thereto. A suitable fabric covering is disposed over the battens, and is secured circumferentially about the envelope adjacent the rear ends of the bat tens, thus insuring a uniform outer contour of the airship. 1 I y For a better understanding of my invention, reference may now-be hadto the ac companying drawings forming a part of this specification, of which;

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary view of the front end of asemi-rigid airship, the-view being partially in cross-section and illustrating one form which my invention may assume;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary cross-sectional. view on an enlarged scale illustrating connecting members employed in a practical application .of my. invention;

Fig.3) is a fragmentary elevational view of the forward end of a nose batten, illus trating certain novel. features of my inventlon; A I V Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of the structureillustrated in Fig.3; and

Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a nose batten, on an enlarged scale, the cross-section being taken substantially along the line V-V ofFig. 3. i

Fig; 6' is a side -elevational View of the rear end of a nose batten constructed in accordance with my 'invention; and

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 6. I

In the drawings, which illustrate one practical'elnbodiment of my invention, the numeral 10 represents an airship envelope, in this instance the airship being of semi-rigid construction, which is provided with a keel l'l composed of upper and lower girders 12 and 13 interconnected by transversely extending members 14. At the forward end of the keel, a cylindrical member 16 extends horizontally from the nose of the envelope and serves as a connecting member for the ends of the girders 12 and 13. It will be observed that the keel does not follow the contour of the envelope, but projects therefrom, thereby providing considerable space between the outer end of the member 16 and the nose of the envelope, the latter being disposed snugly about the cylindrical member adjacent its rear end.

As best shown in Fig. 2. the end of the forward girder 12 is pivotally connected to a lug 17 mounted upon the rear end of the cylindrical member 16. The forward end of the member 16 is provided with an annular supporting member 18, rigidly secured thereto. The member 18 is provided with an annular flange 20, on which is formed a plurality of lugs 19, similar to the lugs 17 and which serve as rigid supports for the ends of the outer girder members 13. Adjacent the outer periphery of the annular member 18 a plurality of ears or lugs 22 are provided which are adapted to pivotally support a plurality of bow stiifeners or nose battens 23, as indicated at 2 1. The nose battens extend radially rearwardly from the annular member 18, considerable portions .t-hcreot tangentially engaging the envelope 10 and extending therealong. Adjacent the rear ends of the battens, fabric finger patches 25, secured to the envelope, are laced to the ends of the battens by means of cords 26.

In order to complete a uniform contour of the bow of the airship, a fabric c ver 27, of cone-shape, is disposed over the battens 23, being secured in any suitable manner over the forward portion of the annular member 18 and being attached to the battens and envelope by means of laced cords 29.

During navigation of the airship under varying conditions of external air and internal gas pressure the envelope will change its form slightly by bulging or contracting, but because of the flexibility permitted by the pivotal connections 24, the battens will move to the various changed positions to accommodate any movement or distortion of the envelope. In order to maintain the nose batten 23 in predetermined relationship during the pivotal movement thereof caused by being subjected to stresses, I provide a plurality of cylindrical telescopic members 30 rigidly secured as indicated at 31 to the re spective battens. Any desirable number of these telescopiemembers may be employed. As the angles between the bat-tens 23 vary according 'to-the bulging of the airship envelope, the telescoping parts of the-members 30 will slide relative to each other, but during this movement of the battens longitudinal twisting or "turning with respect to the connections .24 and 26 is prevented. This arrangement of battens and telescoping members provides astabil-ized structure and insures a uniform shape For the forward end of the airship under various conditions of internal gas pressure and external air forces acting thereon.

As best shown in Figs. 3 to 5, each nose stifl'ener or batten 23 is composed of two oppositely disposed channel-shape members and 33. The upper channel 32 is provided with a plurality of openings 34, the edges of which are flanged laterally, and which reduces the weight of the button without materially reducing its strength, and the lower channel member 33 is provided with weight reducing openings 3.3. These channehshape members are arcuate in contour and converge toward their opposite ends, thereby imparting to the batten as a whole a substantially crescent shape.

At the forward converging ends of the members 32 and 33, I provide plates 36, rigidly secured within the ends thereof and constituting one of the securing means for the connections 24. Also, the forward end of the batten is provided with oppositely disposed corrugated side plates 37 extending a short distance toward the center of the batten. The intermediate portion of the batten is reinforced by angularly disposed lattice members 38, which are secured to the respec tive flanges ot the channel members and are provided with reinforcing flanges 39. The rear portion of the nose batten, which lies along the surface of the envelope 10, is reinforced by a pair of corrugated side plates 40, which extend substantially to the rear ends of the members 32 and 33. An integral projection 12, provided with a grommet 13, is formed on the end of the upper channel 32. The lacing 26 passes through the gron'imet 43 and is secured to the linger-patches 25, thereby securing the end of the batten to the envelope.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that an airship embodying the im proved features of. construction disclosed herein will afford a strong protective covering for the nose of an airship without detracting from the appearance thereof, and that the structure is relatively simple in its application. In case of an injury to the nose of the airship, the possibility o l' the injury being transmitted to the envelope is reduced to a minimum. Also. the battens are conveniently accessible and may be repaired or replaced without removing or dis turbing the envelope. L

Although I have illustrated but one form which my invention may assume and have described in detail but a single application thereof, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited but that various minor modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit of my invention or from the scope of the appended claims.

neascae envelope outside the latter, and a covering enveloping the nose batten.

A nose structure for an airship-provided with a keel and envelope, one end of the keel projecting from the envelope, a member secured to the projecting end of the keel, a plurality of nose battens pivotally connected to the member, and means for con necting the nose battens to the envelope substantially tangentially thereof.

4. A nose structure for an airship provided with a keel and envelope, one end of the keel projecting from the envelope, a

I member secured to the projecting end of the keel, a plurality of nose battens pivotally connected to the member and diverging toward the envelope, means for connecting the diverging ends of the nose batten to the envelope, andmeans disposed between the battens intermediate their ends permitting relative movement thereof but maintaining them in a definite relationship.

5. The combination with an airship enve-- lope and keel projecting therefrom, of a plurality of nose battens pivotally connected to the keel and secured to the envelope outside the latter. Y i

6. The combination with an airship envelope land a fabricated keel, of a plurality of nose battens extending over a portion of the outer surface of the envelope, means for connecting the battens to the keel and telescopic members connected between the respective nose battens intermediate the ends thereof.

7. A nose batten comprising elongate channel-shape members, reinforcing plates secured adjacent the ends thereof and at' taching means provided at the outer ends of the plates.

8. A nose batten comprising elongate channel-shape members, reinforcing plates adjacent the. ends thereof, lattice members joining the channel-shape members between the plates and attaching brackets adjacent the ends of the plates.

9. A nose batten comprising two elongate channel-shape members converging toward their ends, corrugated plates secured adjacent the converging ends of the channelshape members, and lattice members joining the channel-shape members intermediate the ends thereof.

10. A nose batten com )risin an elon ate truss member converging toward its ends, a plurality of plates secured at each end of the truss member and attaching means provided at the ends of the plates.

11. A nose batten comprising an arcuate rnss member, a plurality of corrugated plates secured adjacent each end of the truss member, and extension members provided at the ends of the plates serving as attaching means- 12. A nose batten comprising a substantially crescent shaped truss member, one element thereof being formed with flanged openings and a plurality of plates secured adjacent the ends of the truss member and provided with corrugations disposed transversely thereof.

13. An elongate nose batten comprising two channel-shape members, one of said channel-shape members being formed with a row of flanged openings extending longitudinally thereof, plates secured adjacent the ends of the channel-shape members and lattice work joining the intermediate portions of the channel-shape members.

14. An elongate truss comprising two channel-shape members of arcuate form converging toward their ends, transversely corrugated elongate plates joining the channelshape members adjacent their ends, and langed lattice members joining intermediate portions of the channel-shape members.

. In witness whereof, I have hereunto signed my name.

CHARLES H. ZIMMERMAN. 

